Captain Richard Phillips

Former captain of the Maersk Alabama

Richard Phillips has been called a “hero of the high seas” for offering himself up as a hostage to save his crew after their ship, MV Maersk Alabama, was overtaken by Somali pirates in April 2009. The tense five-day stand-off ended in a daring high-seas rescue when U.S. Navy SEALs opened fire and picked off three of the captors. Phillips’ book about the incident, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, was made into a 2013 film starring Tom Hanks.

Phillips is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a member of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots Union and a licensed American merchant mariner.